


NaturePhobia

by marty_mcfly_jr



Category: Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-05 18:24:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15176648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marty_mcfly_jr/pseuds/marty_mcfly_jr
Summary: Jasmine is a city girl through and through. What would she ever do if she stumbles on the circle of standing stones and finds herself stranded in the middle of nowhere... in the past? Good thing the right people find her. Claire and Jamie could at least understandwhere she is coming from





	1. Chapter 1

"Can't you stop using my water bottle for your flowers, Finna?" I yelled at my aunt, "I buy Poland Spring Water to drink, not to water plants with" I explained angrily.

"shut up, pip squeak," she snapped, "you have no respect for nature, you combusted, toxic, city girl!"

My name is Jasmine, although, as you just witnessed, My aunt Finna prefers to call me other names. I live in an apartment on one hundred and one street in Manhattan, with my mom, my aunt, and my little nephew. My apartment consists of 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a small living room, and a bathroom. The bathroom is the part of the house that causes most fights in my family. Especially after we eat Chickpeas for dinner.

My dad was killed seventeen years ago, while chatting with my mom from his office at the World Trade Center. Mom was devastated when it happened, because she was just telling him that she was pregnant with me, but until today, she isn't sure if he got that message, because he didn't reply.

My aunt is my mom's half sister, and is only four years older than I. She lives in our house almost two years, already. She ran away from her own home in the Bronx, where she claims that everyone is always drunk, and complaining. My mom's father abandoned his family, and moved to Memphis, so my grandmother re-married a drunkard who is a parasite, and so, would never leave her.

My aunt had been neglected, and was swapping boyfriends for bubble-gum. By the time she was sixteen, she became a mother, and at eighteen she decided that she had enough of her parents. One morning, she packed her bags, dressed her baby, and escaped to her older sister's house.

Since she has moved in, our house filled up with plants and flowers. Every corner in the house was occupied with pitchers, spring water bottles, even her son's stacking toy was filled with earth or water, housing every kind of flower or plan that existed.

My grandfather (my dad's dad), who also lived at our house whenever he was in New York, said that this was getting him very nervous, all those flowers all over the house.

"You want flowers? Go to the botanical gardens!" he once told her.

She went. And she came back with a car-full of exotic plants. "This is not what my father-in-law meant!" my mother told her, smiling, when she saw this. My mom is into plants too.

I never cared much for flowers, or anything natural. I hardly ever ate any fruits or vegetables, I was terrified of going upstate, or anywhere that had more green than grey in the scenery. My aunt was not alone in believing that I was totally incapable of appreciating nature. Anyone who knew me could say that I was a city girl through and through. I was born in New York City, and in New York City I Shall die. Or at least this was what I thought, before this story began.

The year was 2018. I was born on June 2002, at Cornish Hospital on sixty eighth street, I attended ps131 on 34th street. The furthest I ever was from my house was when I went to Brooklyn.

I loved my house on the seventh floor. I loved my active neighborhood, the impersonal neighbors in my building. I loved the noise, the light and even the smell.

"Yo, appliance," my aunt alled to me, "your friend Tim called, he is coming at five o'clock."

"Five o'clock?" I said nervously, looking at my watch, "damn, that's in five minutes!"

I ran my fingers through my blue, spiky hair, while running to the hall mirror to check out the rest of me. I was a fairly good looking kid: amber eyes, long lashes, eyebrow earrings (my mom fiercely objected to that and to my tongue ring as well) I had five earrings on my left ear and one on the right.

I blinked my eyes a few times as I applied my blue Mascara, "when did he call," I asked.

"This morning," she said.

"Couldn't you call my cell, to let me know?" I complained, "I might have bought another lip-liner. I was at Macy's today."

"That's precisely why I didn't tell you. You spend more money on these stupid cosmetics than a model does."

"How do I look?" I said, turning to Finna as I finished applying my makeup.

"As terrible as ever," she replied.

"Good, Tim will be happy, then. Unlike you, he finds this look attractive." I smiled to her and went into my room.

My room was one of my most favorite places in the world. It was mostly occupied with my bed, which stood wall to wall on one side. This bed originally had a headboard, but we had to disconnect it because it didn't fit into the room. Across from the bed I have a wall closet, and near my bed I have a little stool, which I use as a night table. I sat on my bed, opened a vitamin bar, and turned on the family laptop.

I started searching the net for info on the history of Japan, I couldn't procrastinate any longer; I had to start the history essay I had for homework Tim might see me struggling with it, and help me with it, I thought, munching on my vitamin bar.

When the bell rang, I was on youtube-dot-com watching an old music video by Snoop Doggy Dog, but I quickly 'x'ed it. I wanted Tim to think I was painfully struggling with the homework.

"Automaton is in her bedroom," I heard Finna tell him.

"Hey Jazz," Tim said coming into my room, "are you busy?"

"I am slaving over this stupid piece of homework," I complained.

"Forget Homework," said Tim, who never took school lightly, "I just received a project idea from our history teacher, and I chose you as my partner for it."

"You're kidding, a project? Does it mean we don't need to write an essay? Just put a few things together, where you'll do most of the work, and I'll get the credit?" I said, getting excited.

"No, actually, you and me are goin' on a field trip!"

"Wow," I said impressed, "It's worth being your friend if just for that! Which museum are we visiting, then?"

"No museum," laughed Tim, "we're going to North Carolina."

"To–" I stopped short. I couldn't believe it.

The color must have left my face because Tim suddenly held onto my elbow, asking, "are you okay, Jasmine?"

"Okay, I'm okay... do you realize how far from home North Carolina is?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly.

"Oh, it's about three, four hours, if you go at a steady speed on the thruway," said Tim, "that's what Robert said. He will be the tour guide on this trip."

"But, Tim," I begged, "what's there to find in North Carlina? What ever we can see there, we can also see it here..."

Not the cave we are going to visit," said Tim, "there is a cave in NC that no one has ever discovered before. It's so new, they don't let anyone near it yet. There are archeologists working on it now, and they let only the best and brightest from each school to see it."

"And we are the best and brightest, are we?"

"Well, I am. But yeah, you are too."

"Tim," I said, after a long pause, "you know how intimidated I am of nature, and caves, and I bet this cave was not found in a city, you know that I am terrified of open air, don't you?"

"But Jasmine, that just doesn't make sense! You love to be alone, don't you?"

"Yeah..." I said.

He was right, I loved to walk the streets by myself, go shopping by myself, and many times I found myself walking on the Brooklyn bridge, watching the sunrise along with the endless stream of early-bird traffic on their way to work. It was a heart-stopping, breath-taking sight, Manhattan. I lived there all my life, and never took that beautiful view for granted.

But although I was alone on these occasions, I wasn't technically alone. There were people, cars, buildings, and machinery all around me. To be alone, really alone, scared the wits out of me. Even if it was together with a bunch of kids from my highschool. Most Horror movies that really scared me were set in a suburb, or a farm. Never in a city.

"What if we stray away from the group?" I asked, "what if we end up alone..."

"You'll have your cell, you can pack your laptop, we'll have the GPS to show us exactly where we are." Tim said, "why not prepare for a week in the wilderness, even though we are going to stay at a town."

"This is not my laptop," I said, poining at the computer on my lap, "it's my mom's. she'll never let me take it."

"She'll let you take anything you like, if I tell her you'll be in a place that's not a city. This . . . phobia you have, is the main reason the teacher let you join in this expedition with me. You'd better get over it now, while you're young."

Tim spent the next three days talking me into going to the trip with him. I agreed in the end, but not without every device I could think of. I packed an elaborate first aid kit, the family laptop, with wireless internet service installed, and five ninety-six hour batteries, my GPS, my cellphone, my iPod, my aunt even gave me her blackberry, with blue-tooth installed. All of that fit neatly into my knapsack, thanks to advancements in technology, where everything is small.

My family were perfectly okay, living without the extra gadgets for a week, as long as their Jasmine would finally breathe the air appropriate for her name.

The Carolina Jasmine


	2. Chapter 2

When the dreaded day finally came, Tim and I piled onto the bus and found seats closer to the front. Tim, bless him, held my hand the whole way to North Carolina.

The cave was in a place that might have been a few miles away from residential area, but to me it looked nothing less than the wilderness. I kept close to Tim, caressing my bag every now and then, to make sure I still had my emergency kit.

I heard the disconcerting buzzing sound the instant we entered the cave. It was a kind of buzzing that sounded like I was inside a horror film. I tried to pull Tim's sleeve to warn him, but my hands did not work, out of fear. I wanted to say something, or to scream, but My voice failed me. We kept going, and the buzzing noise became louder. It sounded to my terrorized ears as if we are nearing a city of bees. I felt like I was inside a terrible nightmare. I tried hard to say something, and when I couldn't, I tried to fill my lungs with air, so I could scream, but I felt chocked.

When we turned the corner, I wanted to shut my eyes, not to see the source of the noise, that surprisingly, everyone else was ignoring. However my eyes were wide with terror, and when we turned the corner, I saw an innocent looking circle of standing stones. Apparently, the terrible noise was coming from there. Walking together with everyone, I got very close to the stones, and someone, either by mistake or on purpose, pushed me onto the stones.

That's when I heard the screams. I entered a confused maelstrom of horror; a whirlpool of nightmare.

When I woke up an hour, a day, or several weeks later, I found myself inside an empty cave. I tried to remember what happened, but then decided that I was to scared to face that memory again. Where was Tim? Where was our group? They didn't just leave me there, did they?

Hands shaking, I reached for my cellphone. No reception.

Damn Verizon! They said there would be a reception from anywhere, I thought. I'd better get out of this cave.

Finding my way out of a pitch-black cave, using only the little night-vision feature on my GPS, while climbing rocks and stuff (in total panic too) was not at all easy. When I finally reached an opening, the sky looked darker, and there was no one in sight.

Don't panic, I told myself fearfully, as I tried the phone again. Still no reception. I moved around, bent down, raised my hand holding the phone to try and get reception. My attempts were getting exceedingly more desperate; Panic was beginning to take over completely. I screamed, I cursed, I ran around and around stumbling on the raw and untouched soil.

That's the way Jamie and his men found me, a blue haired girl, running like the devil was behind her, screaming hoarsely incoherent curses, waving my cellphone hand. Eyes as big as saucers, face pale like a corpse.

I was told later that I had frightened the men greatly, and they were going to shoot me on the spot. They thought I was some kind of an evil spirit, but Jamie stopped them, and took me to his wife Claire.

Claire treated me for shock and exposure before I was able to say anything in comprehensible English.

When I was finally able to talk, I said to the redheaded man who was in the room at the time, "what are you, why are you in this primitive cabin, and why are you dressed like historical freaks?"

"That was just what my men were asking about you, lassie," said the large, red headed guy, "forgive my observation, but you are the one who looks the less human between the two of us. With your blue spiky hair, the metal rings all over your face, and that strange thing you hold so tightly in your hand, which makes strange sounds and gives out light."

"Oh, don't tell me you've never seen a cellphone! They told me that even the most deprived third world countries know what technology is. And you are living in the United States, even though it's not a city, you should have everything city dwellers have, just in a bigger, scarier space." I said, ranting.

Reminded of my phone, however, I decided to try using it again. I dialed Tim's number, and clicked 'send', but there was still no reception. Jamie, (that was the redhead's name, I later found out) must have seen me starting to panic again because he quickly called for his wife.

I looked around and saw my knapsack on the floor. I picked it up, and took out my laptop, thinking that if my cell isn't working, at least the internet should. I clicked on the power button, and a couple of seconds later, just as Claire walked in, I heard the comforting "Bling!" of start-up.

Claire looked at the computer for an instant, before checking my pupils again.

"It looks like you have gotten over the first terrible shock," Claire said gently. I didn't like her tone of voice, she sounded like she was speaking to a retard,"do you think you can talk to me now?"

"What do you mean, the first shock," I asked nervously, tearing the wrapper of a vitamin bar, and looking at the icon on the bottom right side of my computer, waiting for it to blink that there is a connection.

Figuring that the connection might take some time in this deprived-looking house in the country, I clicked on 'my videos' to pass the time, as I usually did on the rare occasion when connection was bad. I opened a music video by 'Lil Bow Wow, and leaned back to listen, while I kept a nervous eye on the bottom right hand of the screen.

"Where you're from, is everyone dressed like that?" Claire asked me.

"Of course not," I said giving her a nasty look, "everyone wears what the want."

"No, I meant, does everyone make their hair look so unnatural?"

"No, that's just me, I hate nature. The only thing natural about me is my name, Jasmine, which really doesn't fit my personality at all." I said feeling a bit talkative. Anything to get my mind off that connection icon.

"Oh," she said, "where are you from?"

"New York," I replied, "Manhattan. This is the first time I ever left the city, and after today, I don't think I ever will again."

The scariest thing for me to do, now, was to look out the window and see all that emptiness. That's why I kept my head averted from the window across from Claire, so I wouldn't look out by mistake and receive another small jolt of shock. I decided to turn my full attention to Claire; I had some questions of my own.

"By the way, did you happen to see a group of tourists, about my age, anywhere in the area?" I asked.

"No," she said, "were you with that group?"

"Yes, with my friend Tim, that's who I'm trying to reach," I said, looking at the computer again to find that it's still not connected. I shut it down to re-boot it. "You don't seem to have a connection," I continued when the system was re-booting, "do you have a regular, old fashioned phone I can use?"

Claire gave a little start, "so, phones are old fashion?"

"The ones using phone-jacks are," I said blinking at her, "if you have any of those, can you hand me one, or are you so backwards that you don't even have a chordless?"

"We're so backwards, we don't even have a phone." Claire said.

I looked at her for a second, and then, it suddenly hit me. Of course!

"An Amish town," I declared triumphantly, " I stumbled into an Amish town!"

"Um... er – not exactly," Claire said, "do you know today's date?"

"Today's date?" I asked surprised at this change of subject.

Claire nodded.

"I think it's May third, unless I was unconscious for a long time."

"What year?"

"Year? What are you getting at?" I asked, confused.

"Please, tell me the full date, it's important," Claire insisted.

"Okay, whatever," I said, "it's May third, 2018, so what?"

"Because, I don't know how to say it to you in a way that would least shock you, but you have just traveled two hundred and forty years to the past." Claire said quickly, as though hoping it would really hurt less if it's quicker.

I looked at her for a long moment, then I said, "yeah. Right. Uh-huh. Sure. That's right, why didn't I think of it before? Like, duh! Of course, you must have also watched the Back to the Future remake that came out in 2015, to commemorate thirty years from the first Back to the Future movie." I said, "don't play that game on me, I have both movies right here on my laptop, I'm also a fan. Now, you'd better start answering my questions, or I'll call the police the second I get connected."


	3. Chapter 3

After a night full of angry dreams, I woke up not in a much better mood. I guess it's just natural to dream angry for someone who went to sleep furious at everyone, it was natural that my dreams made me angry. at first Claire tried to make me get out of the house and see the neighborhood. she told me that the quiet and emptiness would convince me that I am really in the 18th century. I told her to shove it, and that I want no part of any "quiet" or "emptiness" and that if she knows what's good for her, she'd better get me a telephone, or take me to New York.

"Great idea!" Claire said, "We'll take you to New York if you could stand the shock. You know, this time in history, New York City is not built yet."

"yeah, yeah, whatever. just take me home and I'll decide what's built and what's not. You can stay in your damn fantasy world of living in the past."

She looked at me with such pity in her eyes, I felt almost as if what she was saying was true. That look made me so mad, I wanted to poke at her eyes, but I held myself back, she might not be mentally stable if she believes in time travel. I just got into bed and forced myself to keep my eyes closed. The less I see of these idiots, the better, I thought.

when the weather finally permitted, we mounted our horses and started for New York.

thoughout this time I have been trying to get any type of connection; my cell phone, my lap-top, my i-Pod, but this place is obviously blocked from any kind of connection.

Mounting my horse, I decided to attempt a connection again. I turned on my i-Pod and waited for it to boot. I never kept any of these equipment on, because I saw not a single outlet for electricity and I worried that it might be a long time before they finally show me the way back to civilization. No connection of course. I shup the i-Pod and returned it to my pocket.

At first I was enhtusiastic about our trip, but as the day wore on and we got no-where, I started to get angry and suspicious of my company. What were they thinking? they want to live like damn hippies or amish or whatever, fine. But why are they riding a horse to New york? It would take weeks! and it looks like they woun't be taking open roads where I could sneak out to the highway and hitch a ride, either! So far all I'd seen was trees and dirt roads.

Suddenly, a thought occured to me: they were going to keep me with them. they wanted me to believe their unlikely story, that I was really in the eighteenth century, so they won't really take me anywhere. They will ride around with me in circles and tell me that we were in New York. I knew I would have believed them, because I don't understand navigation. I turned on my GPS to check, but - of course, I wasn't working. I was about to accuse them, when Claire saw my device and quickly came to tell me that I must put it away.

Jamie and Claire have been acting very wierd about my stuff. They kept warning me not to show it to anyone. Jamie seemed afraid of it, He would look away whenever I took out my computer as though I exposed one of my breasts. When he was not guarding me he would get up and leave the room any time I took one of my knick-knacks out. Claire, however, did not avoid these things. She looked at me as I tinkered with my gadgets; sometimes I imagined she looked almost nostalgic about it.

Night arrived and I decided to sleep in their stupid tent. I wasn't going to tell them that I suspect them. Let them think they are fooling me; I'll meanwhile try to follow the road and check for sighns. If I show any suspiciion, they will be alot more careful. I decided to play dumb.

after a few days or weeks of this endless travelling we arrived at a very peculiur place. it looked very much like one of those paintings of cities of old. there were streets and buildings and many people walking.

"how many people are in this with you?" I couldn't help blurting.

"In this with who?" Jamie asked.

"Never mind. where are we now?" I asked.

I asked that question alot. I made me feel like that pesty kid in the back of the car on a highway asking "Are we there yet?"

"We are in philadelphia, Pensilvania." answered Claire.

"sure," I said.

This has been the contents of our exchange throughout the trip: I, asking about our location, they, answering, and then I, making an angry remark and thinking, "why did I bother asking."

We made our way through the streets of "Phyladelphia" when, out of no where, I saw something that shocked me to the core.

First I stopped. I saw this man. I did a double-take, and I fainted.

when I woke the man was still there, and he was bending over me with the look of concern.

Seeing that made me faint again.

When I came to, no one was bending over me, but I heard voices:

"she must have recognized you from paintings or the newspapers," I heard Claire explain, "It must have thrilled her to see you in person."

You can say that again, Claire.

I wanted to open my eyes. I wanted to see if what I saw was really true, but if it was, I would need to admit that what Jamie and Claire were telling me was right all along. I wasn't sure I could believe that without fainting again or going into a panic.

I had to calm myself down first.

I had to agree to the terms and conditions of seeing what I saw.

Did I really see Benjamin Franklin? The Benjain Franklin, the one printed on the Hundred Dollar Bills? Did I just see a living breathing Benjamin Franklyn?

I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to that, so I kept laying with my eyes closed and listening to him talking about what could be done with me.

He sounded very fatherly, with a low-pitched and soft voice. (Was I really hearing Benjamin Franklyn?)

My thoughts were so jumbled. but I couldn't organize them. every time I tryed to concentrate, the image of the man who poped out of a hundred dollar bill kept entering my thoughts and messing them all up again.

FInally, I decided to open up my eyes.

I looked at him.

I had a strong urge to look away, but I forced myself to keep staring. Claire studied me, probably to see if I needed any more medical attention. But I knew that look on Claire's face. she was recognizing my agony. she understood me for some reason, and my reaction to Franklin (!) brought something back to her too.

When I found my voice again, I asked Benjamin Franklyn if he knew how much like Benjamin Franklyn he looked.

Everyone laughed, as though I was a silly star-struck girl,


	4. Chapter 4

I sat in a dark corner of a little room in Ben Franklyn's house, holding my backpack close to my body. I was dirty, my clothes ripped and worn from the long journey, my hair has grown long and unruly, and my eyes red from crying. Claire was sitting in the center of the room watching for any sign of recovery. she thought she knew how confused I was. She had no idea.

After my embarrassing fainting spell, Benjamin insisted that I stay at home, until I recover. He said I didn't look fit for any more travel. No one in our group was prepared to argue, seeing me at the state I was at. I have been in this corner since, unable to budge and quietly crying (at varying levels of panic) that I want to go home"

"What year did you say it is?" I asked tentatively.

"Seventeen seventy four," She replied immediately, as though she was waiting to talk to me but needed me to talk first.

"And you said you were from twenty eighteen?"

"Yeah," I replied spacing out again.

Claire slowly walked over to the corner I was sitting at and carefully took my hand, like it was some fragile crystal.

"Come," she said, "Let me get you washed and dressed in something cleaner, maybe we can get some nice Combs for your hair."

I was filthy, but I couldn't move. I didn't trust anyone with my equipment, and I couldn't take them with me to the bath because they were not water proof. Claire saw my hesitation, and the way I hugged my book bag tighter, and she let my hand go.

She sat down next to me on the floor and asked quietly, "Would you like to talk to me first?"

I appreciated her effort on my behalf, but I couldn't think of anything to say. My mind seemed still frozen at the point of realization that I had just traveled in time. All I wanted was to go home.

"I also came here from the future," Claire said.

I stared at her. Of course, I thought, My brain unfreezing instantly. It's obvious that she would know something about this only if she herself experienced the same thing! or if she knew someone that did.

"Is there a way to get back to the future?" I asked, not believing that I actually asked that question.

"There are ways," Claire said, "but I am not sure if it's possible right at the moment."

Claire looked at the girl sitting in the corner. She had to answer the terrible question of how.

"How can I get back to the future?" The girl asked.

Claire knew that this girl was now holding on to hope that Claire might have all the answers. But Claire knew that getting back means using diamonds and other precious gems which neither of them had at the moment.

"it will take a long time." She answered, she didn't want her to expect much and then be disappointed, but she didn't want the girl to lose hope.

"I will tell you if you wash up and eat something, we can sit and discuss it.

I wanted to ask Claire if she knew anything about how to use a laptop. If she is from my time, maybe I can trust her to keep my stuff while I washed. I did need a good shower.

"Is James also from the future?" I asked.

"No he's from here."

"What year are you from?" I asked Claire.

"I am from 1968" Claire answered. she didn't want to tell her that she's traveled more than once. Not just yet.

"Oh, that's ancient!" exclaimed the girl, "That's before my parents were even born."

"Things have changed alot since then, haven't they?" asked Claire.

I looked at Claire. she seemed to understand alot about time, but I also realized that I must stink like some of the homeless in the subway. Claire was so patient with me, she didn't show distaste, even though she sat on the floor right near me. I knew it was rude on my part to make her talk to someone who didn't shower for weeks.

"I will wash up, but can you please keep an eye on my bag? these things are very important to me, " I said.

Claire promised to watch my stuff and hurried off to tell the men to prepare a tub for my bath.

Bathing felt better than I imagined. It calmed me down and cleared my mind. when I finished, I brushed my hair which was not short or blue anymore but shoulder length curly and light brown.

When I was dressed and ready, I set out to look for Claire and my stuff. The only person I saw in the house was that redhead guy, James. I never really spoke to this James since the first day I arrived in the past. each of us left the other alone.

Have you seen Claire?" I approached James and asked.

James turned to look at me. I never spoke to him directly before, and I certainly never sounded so calm since my arrival in this godforsaken time and place.

As he was looking at me, I noticed he had eyes like Sapphire's, and that those eyes looked very familiar. I must have looked familiar to him too, because he looked very intently at me and said, "Claire" in a very strange voice.

"Yes Claire, did you see her?" I asked looking at him, and then I remembered. he looked very much like my grandma from Boston! In fact, he looked so much like her, he could have been her brother!

"Are we related?" I blurted out without thinking.

"Claire," he said again, "You look like Claire."

Right at that moment I saw Claire and waved to her, "Hey Claire do you have my stuff?"

Claire approached us, and looked at James with some concern. He did look funny, the way he looked at me.

"James says that I look like you, do you think it's true?" I asked Claire. "I think he looks like my grandmother." I laughed.

"Your grandmother?" Claire looked confused.

"My grandma Bree from Boston. he looks so much like her he could be her brother." I laughed at how true this was, the resemblance was astounding. how did I not notice it before?

Now it was Claire who looked frightened. She looked at James as if for assurance or answers, he looked at her for the same thing.

"What's your grandmother's name?" Claire asked weakly. they both looked like they were going to faint.

"My grandma is Brianna Ellen. She died about five years ago. My Dad's mom."

They both flinched when I said that she died. Whats wrong, I wondered Why do they care about my grandmother?

"Come," said Claire taking my hand. her hand was shaking badly, "Come, lets sit down"

She led me and James into a room and we all collapsed on the chairs.

"Tell us about your Grandmother, Jasmine, do you have any pictures?" said Claire

"Sure," I said, "Give me my laptop, I'll show you some family photos."

I looked at James whom I knew was very uncomfortable with all this new technology, but he looked eager to see. I guess Claire did expose him to some futuristic ideas.

I logged on to my laptop and clicked on 'my pictures'. Expertly, I browsed in 'family pictures' a picture of my dad came up, and before I could click 'next' Claire stopped me.

"Who is this man?" she asked.

"That was My dad," I said, "But he was killed before I was born. I don't think he even knew that my mom was going to have me."

"He was?" asked James. He looked accusingly at Claire, "I thought you said there were no wars in your time, in the future? You said there was some kind of an agreement between the nations..."

"Oh you mean the UN?" I said laughing, "there are wars still, but he wasn't killed in a war, he was sitting in his office."

"What was his name?"

"Jeremy," I said sadly. I didn't want to discuss my dad anymore. It depressed me to try and guess, as my mother always did, weather he knew if I existed or not before he was murdered.

I looked up, and to my surprise, I saw tears on both Jamie and Claire's cheeks.

"Why do you care so much about my family?" I asked.

"Jasmine," Jamie said, he spoke my name for the first time; it sounded strangely tender.

"Jasmine, you are our great grand daughter." he said and Claire got up to embrace me in a tight hug. She was shaking with silent sobs as she held me. I looked at Jamie, he looked so much like my grandmother!

"My great grandparents," I said fascinated.


End file.
